Muslim bureaucrats and police officers who have been tirelessly working on the ground, making arrangements to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and for the treatment for those who have already contracted the virus, have appealed to fellow Muslims to cooperate with the authorities.
A letter, which has been signed by more than 60 IAS, IRS and IPS officers says,
“The global outbreak of COVID-19 is a huge challenge to the country and all humanity. We are struggling hard to keep it at bay.”
The officers claim they are worried by reports of Muslims not adhering to social distancing and other measures employed to counter the spread of the pandemic.
“Distressing videos are in wide circulation showing stone-pelting at health workers, and clash of men from the Muslim community with police personnel who were enforcing the law. In some videos, policemen are baton-charging the people hell-bent on going to a mosque for prayer. Today on 4 April 2020, a national daily reported that 25 percent of the positive cases of novel coronavirus reported in India are linked to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation held in Delhi in March.”
The officers have appealed to the Muslim community to act responsibly and stand out as examples to fellow citizens in the fight against coronavirus.
They have also invoked Islamic law to underline how it is sinful to harm oneself. They have equated contracting the virus to ‘suicide and courting danger and disease by one’s rash and negligent act’ and said that such an act is ‘haraam’ or forbidden in Islam.
They have tried to explain in the letter how the virus does not remain confined to the body of the infected person, but spreads to his family and society.
The officers then go on to quote from their holy book to say that,
“The Quran says if one kills an innocent human being, it is as if he had killed all mankind, and whosoever saves the life of one, it is as if he had saved the life of all mankind.”
They have also invoked sayings and practices of the Prophet, to say that there are clear directions given to take steps to protect oneself and to prevent the spread of epidemics in the Hadiths.
The group of civil servants has appealed to Muslims to refrain from gathering at mosques, to pray at home as responsible citizens and help health workers and police officers carry out their duties.
The letter has been signed by the following officers:
- Asif Jalal, IPS (2002-HP)
- Najmul Hoda, IPS, Inspector General of Police, Tamil Nadu-2001 batch
- Sohail Malik, IRS 2010 batch, Joint Commissioner of IT, Delhi
- Rashid Munir Khan, IPS 2008-WB
- Muzammil Khan, IAS
- Mohammad Shayin, IAS 2002 batch Haryana
- Mohd Mustafa IPS 1985 Punjab
- Noorul Hasan ,IPS,2015,MH
- Md. Noor Rahman Sheikh, IFS, 2004, Consul General of India, Jeddah
- Ms. Gudrun Nehar IRS 2005 batch Delhi
- Shaikh Aminkhan, IRS 2011 batch Kolkata
- Javed Akhtar IRS 2002 Delhi
- Zafar Ajmal Kidwai, IPS 2011 ,West Bengal
- Dr Saleem Ali, IPS (Retd.) 1978 batch, Tripura
- Shuja Mahmood IRPS, 2006 batch, Hubli
- Imtiyaz Khan, IPS 2016, Haryana
- Maqsood Ahmed, IPS, 2016 batch Haryana
- TA Khan, IPS( Retd.) West Bengal 1968
- Showkat Ahmad Parray, IAS, 2013 batch Punjab
- Tariq Mabood IRS 2009
- Imamuddin Ahmad, IRS, Commr. CGST, Mangalore
- Zuhair Bin Saghir, IAS. 2006 batch, Uttar Pradesh
- Dr mohd Suhail Fazal IA&AS 2013 batch, Delhi
- Md. Imteyaz Alam, IRTS, 2011 batch, Danapur, Bihar
- Mansoor Hasan Khan, IDAS 2002.
- Mohammed Rizwan, IRS, 2004
- Dr Hanif Qureshi, IPS 1996, Haryana
- Zaigham Ali Khan IRAS 1999 SEC Railway Chhattisgarh
- Md Abu Sama IRS 2002 batch
- Haris Bin Zaman, IPS 2017 batch, Jharkhand
- Dr Mohd Sohail Fazal, IA & AS, 2013 batch
- Ms Aisha Khan, IOFS, 2013 batch
- K Asif Hafeez, IRPS 2010 batch, Senior Divisional Personnel officer, Begaluru
- Md. Shamshad Alam, IRS 2004 batch
- Dr Mohd Rehan Raza, DANICS 2012 , Delhi
- Hammad Zafar, IPoS, Patna, Bihar
- Akhtar Rashid, IRS, 2006 batch
- Mohd Kamal Ahmad, IES 1989 Bhopal MP
- Gaudh Alam, IPS 2017, Telangana
- Syed Haamid Bukhari, ICLS, 2017 batch Jammu and Kashmir
- Noman Hafiz, IOFS, 2015 Batch
- Suhail A Kazi, IRS, 2009, Pune, Mah.
- Mohammad Saim , IRS 2014, Hyderabad.
- Shakil Ahmad Ganie,IRS 2016,Srinagar
- Saddik Ahmed, IRS,2013, Hyderabad,
- Arif Hafeez , IPS , 2015 AP
- Mazid khan, IRS 2013, Delhi.
- Yunus, IAS 2010 batch Himachal Pradesh
- Mohd Owais IRTS, 1989 batch
- Sabiha Rizvi IRS 2009 Jodhpur
- Suboor Usmani, IRS 2003, Maharashtra
- Amna Tasneem IAS 2015 batch Haryana
- Sameer Shaikh, IPS 2016 batch, Maharashtra
- Mohd Owais, IRTS, 1989 Batch
- SM Qasim Abidi , IPS 2017 batch , UP cadre
- Sameer Shaikh, IPS 2016 batch, Maharashtra cadre
- Shakeel Maqbool, ICAS 2013, J&K
- Waseem Akram, IPS, Haryana
- Masroor Ahmad, IA&AS 2015, Odisha
- Ezaz Ahmed IAS 2018 WB
- Hamna Mariyam Khan, IFS, 2017, Jeddah.
- Syed Ali Abbas, IPS,2018,UP
- Hamid Akhtar IPS 2008 Haryana
- Amanullah Tak, IP&TAFS 2013( Director, DoT, Ministry of Communications)
- Ansari Shakeel Ahmed, IRS 2013 batch
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